Left Handed Roubo Workbench

I needed to replace my old “weekend workbench” badly, and I built myself a Roubo from Douglas fir and ash. I detailed the build in this 5 part blog series “YAR! Yet Another Roubo” if you want to see scads of photos.

The new bench is amazing, and I spend less time trying to figure out how to hold work down and more time working on the projects. Not to mention it is just beautiful, and I think a shop should be as nice and inspirational as possible. It is 24” deep x 7’2” wide, and about 33” tall.

Total time was about 4 to 5 full weekends. Lumber cost about $300 (the ash came from one 8/4×9” x 6’ slab for about $60), and the hardware was about $100 (two vise screws from Lee Valley, a pair of holdfasts, and some Spax lag bolts for the end caps), and a piece of leather for $12.

Here’s the bench I replaced…

The vise racked, it was too light, it was too tall (36”), too deep (30”), and too narrow (5’). I had no tail/end/wagon vise, it just couldn’t hold work worth a crap. And it was ugly!

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21 comments so far

looks great. I’m sure you can feel the improvement much more than anyone could see from the pictures. it’s great having a proper bench that can work with you as opposed to leave you figuring things out

I’ve been preparing to build a Roubo myself and I’m kinda torn between using old re-purposed/salvaged wood, which I have acces to through a local salvager, or building from Doug Fir like you did. The only concern I have with Doug Fir is will the bench top will stay flat? I don’t want to have to correct for twisting or warping down the road. There aren’t enough benches made from Doug Fir out there for me to get my concerns addressed so I pose that question to you.

Very nice roubo. I am thinking of making one in Douglas fir also. Where did you get the leather? I have looked on line and couldn’t find anything acceptable or in small enough quanities (don’t need a box full). Enjoy your bench, and I agree with you that a shop should be nice since we spend alot of time there.

DouginVA – I thought that question looked familiar :-) . It’s been a month, and its still flat. I think it’s fine material, you should stop worrying about it and build one.

Nikki – I had a hard time tracking down leather too. The local craft/fabric stores just had scrap bags of random pieces that weren’t larger than 6” x 6”. Eventually I tracked down an online place that sold me an 18” sq piece for about $12 w/shipping.

DC, that is indeed a beautiful bench. I can relate to the ‘spend more time working vs. figuring out work holding;’ it’s amazing what you put up with, not knowing what a real bench can do.

RE: a flat bench. I’d suggest perfectly flat on a benchtop is about as necessary as perfectly flat sole and sides on a jack plane. It’s focus that is misplaced. And anything 3” thick or more isn’t going to suffer sag, even if it’s doug fir. At least not in our lifetime.

My .02.

Not said to offend anyone’s personal philosophy, but offered to encourage anyone thinking about building a bench but is hesitant for any of the reasons above.

EDIT: For leather, I grabbed a cushion from a green leather sofa that was put at the curb for trash pickup. It’s the source for all my leather needs, and was $0. So if that’s ever a possibility for you…

-- Don't anthropomorphize your handplanes. They hate it when you do that. -- OldTools Archive